


Touch of Forbidden

by tirsynni



Category: The Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Creature Fic, Halloween Challenge, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-01
Updated: 2021-03-01
Packaged: 2021-03-13 05:48:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,104
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29771583
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tirsynni/pseuds/tirsynni
Summary: Nabooru warned him not to travel to the Spirit Temple. “There is a darkness there, trapped. The power of the Spirit Temple contains it, but it is too dangerous to approach until we can find a more… permanent solution.”So of course Link went to the Spirit Temple.
Relationships: Ganondorf/Link (Legend of Zelda)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 92





	Touch of Forbidden

**Author's Note:**

> Part of my personal Halloween 2020 challenge. Ghosts and monsters and demons, oh my. I also just like seeing how many alternative ways I can have Link and Ganondorf meet.

Nabooru warned him not to travel to the Spirit Temple.  _ “There is a darkness there, trapped. The power of the Spirit Temple contains it, but it is too dangerous to approach until we can find a more… permanent solution.” _

Thus warned, Link decided he needed to go to the Spirit Temple. He had traveled to the other Temples throughout Hyrule. This was the last of the Temples, and the Longshot he acquired in the Water Temple would help him traverse the sands. Helpful considering the Gerudo still refused to share their method.

_ “There is a malice which doesn’t sleep. It  _ **_waits_ ** _ , Link, and we have no idea what it’s waiting for. Don’t do anything stupid.” _

Link waited until just before dawn to set out. Between his Lens of Truth and his Longshot, the desert was manageable, even if he arrived at the Spirit Temple with sand in uncomfortable places. 

The opening to the Temple was clear, but Link allowed himself to be distracted for several minutes first. It took minimal investigation to find a hidden Fairy Fountain, and he bottled several sleepy fairies, just in case. The Great Fairy proved as terrifying as ever, and Link doubted Nabooru’s mysterious darkness could compare to the Great Fairy’s wild laughter.

Prepared, Link walked to the entrance of the Spirit Temple. There was a barrier blocking the door, and Link paused there, studying it. No matter how curious he was, he doubted that it would be a good idea to break it. He didn’t know if there were other things in place to keep the darkness from escaping. Too bad Nabooru refused to provide more information, simply stating that he had no reason to be there and it was too dangerous and if Link could stop finding creative ways to get himself killed, Nabooru would appreciate it.

That left other forms of information gathering. After studying the barrier a little longer, Link shrugged and poked it. Such forms of direct information tended to yield immediate results. In this case, Link’s finger immediately went through, so the barrier was meant to keep the darkness in, not keeping other things out.

Also, whatever was inside grabbed his finger before Link could pull it back, so Link knew whatever form the darkness held, it had hands.

Link growled and tried to yank his hand back. Whatever it was, it tightened its grip. Link scowled and almost reached for his weapon before he realized the thing wasn’t hurting him: just holding on. Shrugging again, Link tried to poke the hand.

“I do not know if you are very brave or very foolish to approach me.” The creature’s voice was low, booming, Not particularly different from a Hylian’s or a Goron’s. “Do you not know this place is forbidden?”

Link rested a hand on his hip and raised an eyebrow at the creature. As if  _ that _ would stop him.

From the shadows came a sigh. Then something moved beyond the barrier. Link blinked as the creature walked so he stood before the barrier, fully visible to Link’s sight. 

It certainly didn’t  _ look _ like a monster. Link cocked his head and frowned. Unfamiliar, but not a monster. The stranger was tall, broad, his thick red hair almost reaching the ceiling of the entrance. He looked, impossibly, like a Gerudo, but Link had never heard of a male Gerudo. Whatever this creature was, he looked undeniably male. Even his clothes seemed of a Gerudo style and color. HIs expression was calm, if curious and a bit stern. No malice. No darkness.

“Who are you?” Link asked quietly. Because it was obvious: this man was a  _ who _ , not a  _ what _ .

So why was he trapped on that side of the barrier?

The man smiled sardonically at him. “Ganondorf. King of the Gerudo. Now who might you be?”

_ King _ ? Nabooru forgot to mention some details.

“Link.” After a moment of thought, he added, testing, “A friend of Nabooru’s.”

Ganondorf hummed and crossed his arms across his chest. He certainly possessed the terrifying musculature of the Gerudo. It was… more distracting than Link expected. Distracting in a way Link wanted to explore more later.

“Nabooru…” Ganondorf mused. “I’m surprised she would let a  _ friend _ come here.”

Link shrugged. She hadn’t physically stopped him, so…

Ganondorf’s mouth quirked in a small smile. “Or perhaps she hadn’t let you. She always chose the most contrary of friends.”

When Link didn’t reply, that tiny smile faded. Ganondorf stepped back, as if about to disappear into the shadows again. “Leave, little one. It will be dark soon.” He clenched his jaw. “Then the darkness will awaken. There is no need for you to be here for that.”

Link crossed his own arms and refused to budge. How could he solve this if he left now?

Ganondorf studied him for a moment longer, a wry twist to his mouth which reminded Link of Nabooru. “Then wait, little one. You’ll see the beast soon enough.” He looked out at the world behind Link. The sun was on its descent downward, slowly but surely. “I hope you brought a meal and water.”

Link, in fact,  _ had _ . This was not his first adventure. He sat down and made himself comfortable on his side of the barrier, He brought out his small lunch and water. When he shoved some into the Temple, Ganondorf only stared disbelieving at him before huffing a laugh and pulling the food closer. Some of the items were nuts and figs Kali had resignedly given to him before Link left. Link wasn’t surprised that Ganondorf smiled again when he saw them.

It took no time for Ganondorf to realize he would need to carry the weight of the conversation. He offered that he was limited in his travels of the Temple: more barriers were inside, spread out enough that he could walk around but not enough to have full range of the Temple. He provided few details of his imprisonment beyond saying that he had been at the Temple since he was a teenager and that Nabooru visited regularly. 

“She leads my people now,” Ganondorf said with a sigh. “I have no doubts about her ability to do it well.”

He didn’t ask about the Hylians at all and barely mentioned the Gorons or Zora. He did wistfully mention the few times he traveled through Hyrule Field and along Kokiri Forest, and Link obliged by pulling out his ocarina and playing.

For the first time, Ganondorf truly smiled.

“All I wanted was to grace the desert with a bit of that sweet breeze,” he said wistfully. “I was a fool.”

He said nothing else. Link didn’t pry.

The sun set slowly, long shadows stretching out around Link. He played sweet songs and playful songs, and Ganondorf obligingly clapped to Saria’s Song. When it grew dark enough that Link needed to build a small campfire, Ganondorf’s smile faded, and he stood up on the other side of the barrier.

“Whatever you do,” Ganodnorf warned, “do not cross the barrier. It is unsafe. Do you understand me?”

Link said nothing. Ganondorf sighed. 

Gently, silently, night fell.

Link’s firelight barely breached the barrier, casting everything beyond it into strange silhouettes and shadow. Link watched, unblinking, and thus caught the first flinch on Ganondorf’s face, heard the sharp intake of breath. He met Link’s eyes and Link watched golden eyes turn a feral yellow.

Bones cracked and broke. Link couldn’t look away. Ganondorf’s groans transformed into roars. The barrier shivered but never yielded. 

With one final howl, Nabooru’s darkness stood before Link, fangs bared and shining in the firelight. No longer a man but a horned beast, Ganondorf met his eyes and roared.

Link inhaled slowly and tasted sulfur. “Can you still talk like this?”

A curse? A spell? Link  _ felt  _ the malice in the air, a sharp, bitter bite. Whatever it was, it was something dark, something Nabooru couldn’t break if her only option was to trap Ganondorf here.

Of course, Nabooru wasn’t Link.

Ganondorf growled, a deep rumble Link felt in his chest. “Yessss,” he hissed. His red eyes flashed.

“Is it a curse?” Different things required different things to break them, after all.

Another growl. “A curse… something  _ Dark _ … my mothers… the Elders…” Ganondorf shook his massive head, and fire light shone off his horns. 

Link frowned and studied Ganondorf’s great form beyond the barrier. It was hard to  _ see _ . It was too dark, and all Link had was his small campfire. 

He needed to get closer.

When Link stood up, Ganondorf snarled, hackles raising. “Stop! Stay back!”

Unlikely.

Stepping through the barrier was like stepping through a gentle rain. The magic reminded Link of the Water Temple and Forest Time. Whatever magic was used as a shield, it relied on the Temple’s natural power. A dangerous thing. Link already ran out multiple monsters from the other Temples. The Temples’ power could be twisted and bypassed if the enemy was clever or malicious enough.

Ganondorf hurried backward, deeper into the shadows. Link stepped to the side so he wouldn’t block the firelight and studied Ganondorf.

From man to massive beast, almost lupine in the shadows. Claw and fang and horn flashed in the dim light. Monstrous. Inhuman. All but swallowed by Malice.

A  _ familiar _ Malice.

_ Mothers _ , Ganondorf said.  _ Elders _ . 

Years ago, when Link first began traveling through the Temples, he encountered a powerful pair of twins in the Shadow Temple. They had trapped Impa inside when she sought to break their hold on the Temple. Only when Link killed the pair was Impa and the Temple freed.

Impa was a Sage. “Nabooru was the one who put up the barrier?” Link asked, only half a question.

Still, Ganondorf rumbled and inclined his head in the slightest of nods.

Nabooru was the Sage of the Spirit Temple then. It also explained why it was purely the Temple’s power and none of Hylia’s. The Gerudo and Hylians didn’t get along. Link was an exception to the rule, largely because the Gerudo considered him more of a fae creature than a Hylian. 

Ganondorf’s growls deepened. It sounded like Link was trapped with a full pack of wolves. For the first time, he stepped forward. Hooves clanked on the stone. A long, bestial tail swished behind him. The Malice thickened around them, thick on Link’s tongue.

Link stared into those wild eyes and carefully pulled out his ocarina again. Unblinking, looking for  _ Ganondorf _ within those depths, Link began to play Zelda’s Lullaby.

The resulting scream echoed through the chamber, hurting Link’s ears. Link’s breath didn’t falter, fingers moving unceasing over the ocarina. 

The beast stepped forward again, eyes blazing with its own light. For the first time, Link got a good look at him. Hooves replaced Ganondorf’s feet. His hands looked more like massive paws. His face was more porcine than lupine like Link originally though, but it seemed to shift with each note of Link's ocarina, convulsing, feral eyes burning. The beast snarled and Link saw fangs. 

Then the song wrapped around the beast, around the Malice, and the monster hissed and took a step back. 

Link played on and on, playing until wild yellow eyes turned golden again, until the horns shrunk. Link felt the magic burning through the room, through  _ them _ , and had no intention on stopping until Ganondorf reached forward with a claw and gently wrapped it around Link’s wrist.

“Stop,” Ganondorf rasped. “You grow pale.”

At that, Link gasped and lowered his ocarina. He swayed, and Ganondorf grabbed his shoulders and steadied him. 

He was still too large, bestial, but his eyes were his own again. He looked more like a Wolfos than the monster from before. 

“What did you do?” Ganondorf whispered. There was  _ awe _ in his voice, and it drew an exhausted smile from Link.

He was tapped tonight. If the twins did this, then their power was stronger than he expected. 

Of course, if Link was right, they had always served another master.

Ganondorf cupped Link’s cheek and tilted Link’s face toward his. “This is the most myself I’ve been after nightfall for years,” he said softly. “Thank you.”

It wasn’t Link’s first kiss. It wasn’t even his first with fangs. Yet it was warm and sweet, tasting like figs, and Ganondorf’s great arms, instead of being threatening, were comforting as they wrapped around him. 

“When you aren’t so tired,” Ganondorf breathed into his ear, “I will be sure to  _ thank _ you for your help.”

Link shivered. He needed to remember to thank Nabooru for forbidding him to come here.

For now, Link pressed into Ganondorf, claiming his reward.

**Author's Note:**

> For more Zelda, Ganlink, and fandom, check out my [tumblr](https://tirsynni.tumblr.com/)!


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